Time Bomb defuses Kasshish

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Posted: 18 years ago

Time Bomb defuses Kasshish
By: Tushar Joshi
June 22, 2005

CANNIBALISING VIEWERSHIP: Ayub Khan and Simone Singh in Kasshish

Ketan Mehta's new series Time Bomb finally exploded on the small screen on Monday night. The show, one of the channel's most hyped in recent times, has expensive promos, huge posters, and lavish billboards.

Zee has gone for the kill with Time Bomb — but at the expense of other shows.

Not many viewers knew that an hour after the launch of Time Bomb was the debut of Ravi Rai's much-anticipated Kasshish. The late night drama, starring Ayub Khan, Simone Singh and Kitu Gidwani, revolves around the extramarital relationship of a man and its fallout on his marriage.

Rai ignored

Rajeev Khandelwal in Time Bomb

But the show has received practically zero publicity from the channel. No posters, no billboards, hardly any teasers, and no interaction with the media.

This comes as a surprise, as Rai is one of the most reputed directors in television.

When contacted Rai said, "The show is my baby, but once I hand it over to the channel, it becomes their responsibility. I cannot sit and grumble that I want this and that."

But isn't the director peeved that the show has been pushed back to an 11 pm slot, rather than being with other family dramas in the 10 pm slot? "I am sure the channel has made the decision after careful planning," is all Rai will say.

What about the limelight that Time Bomb is hogging? Says Rai, "If the channel thinks Time Bomb works for them, so be it. When I did Sailaab, people said it would sink in no time. But it was one of the biggest shows of my career. Only time will tell which show will run and which will flop."

Chunnel vision

Zee group Vice President Ashish Kaul says, "For us, nothing is more important than Time Bomb right now.

We look at making the show our biggest property, and it already is, in terms of production value and star cast. Zee aims to make Time Bomb the driving factor for the channel, which will influence the ratings of other shows in a positive light."

Commenting on the conscious effort to not give any other shows publicity Kaul says, "Kasshish is one of the best shows we have. In my opinion, it should do well on its own. If Time Bomb does well at 10 pm, we believe it will also add to the viewership of Kasshish at 11 pm."